SUNY Withdraws Development Plan for Troubled Brooklyn Hospital

H. Carl McCall, chairman of the SUNY board of trustees, announced at a meeting Tuesday that he was withdrawing the development plan.Credit
Fred R. Conrad/The New York Times

The State University of New York on Tuesday withdrew a plan to build condominiums on the property of the troubled Long Island College Hospital, after dozens of angry protesters complained that the community had not been consulted.

As the protesters shouted, “Just wait for the new mayor!” and “Just one month!” the university’s trustees, meeting in Midtown Manhattan, began expressing doubts about the development plan that a screening panel had favored.

One trustee, Joseph W. Belluck, said that in light of the community opposition, he did not think he could support it. Another, Richard Socarides, suggested letting the incoming mayor, Bill de Blasio, deal with the hospital, noting that Mr. de Blasio, had “expressed a keen interest in this matter.”

H. Carl McCall, chairman of the SUNY board of trustees and a former state comptroller, acidly replied, “A real profile in courage.”

“We are shocked,” said Jeff Strabone, a board member of the Cobble Hill Association who was in the audience. “This is a victory for community power.”

At the meeting, SUNY officials announced that a Brooklyn-based developer, Fortis Property Group, had proposed to turn the hospital in Cobble Hill, Brooklyn, into condominiums with a small portion of space to be devoted to an urgent care center and other medical facilities, but not a hospital.

The panel had found this the most viable of a handful of proposals that they had received.

Under the plan, Fortis would enter into a partnership with ProHealth Care Associates, a physician group practice, to run the medical side of the development.

Photo

Dr. Jon Berall, the ombudsman for Long Island College Hospital, expressed his approval at the board's decision.

Credit
Fred R. Conrad/The New York Times

Lee Silberstein, a spokesman for the developer, indicated that Fortis had not given up. “We are confident that the proposal we submitted offers the best solution to meet the health care needs of the LICH community,” Mr. Silberstein said. “We look forward to hearing from SUNY as to the next steps."

Doctors, unions, civic groups and Mr. de Blasio, as public advocate, have sued to keep the hospital open, arguing that the community needed a full-service hospital.

Indeed, while the SUNY trustees were meeting, Mr. de Blasio issued a statement opposing the development plan.

An error has occurred. Please try again later.

You are already subscribed to this email.

“We are troubled SUNY is poised to give preliminary approval to a plan that will replace so much of LICH’s vital health care capacity with luxury condos, while failing to preserve essential services like emergency care,” Mr. de Blasio said. “We will continue to fight any plan that fails to provide critical health care for surrounding neighborhoods.”

SUNY says the hospital is not financially viable. It has allowed the number of patients to dwindle to just a couple of dozen.

But it cannot close the hospital or lay off 1,400 employees — who are being paid for very little work — without violating a court order.

Mr. McCall said after Tuesday’s board meeting that the hospital had more than $500 million in liabilities, and that the real estate deal would have brought in under $300 million.

He said it continued to lose $13 million a month, and that without a solution, SUNY may be forced to cut programs or to raise tuition across its 64 campuses.

Mr. McCall said he had made overtures to Mr. de Blasio to discuss how to save the hospital. “I would love to meet with him and give him the keys to the hospital,” Mr. McCall said.

A version of this article appears in print on December 18, 2013, on Page A27 of the New York edition with the headline: SUNY Withdraws Development Plan for Troubled Hospital. Order Reprints|Today's Paper|Subscribe